Currently, there is no simple, inexpensive way for aircraft pilots to view and record flight data that includes airspeed, pressure (altimeter), temperature, orientation, heading, acceleration, and angular rate. Current devices for monitoring this data are very complex and expensive. They are hard mounted to the aircraft and permanently wired to one or more screens or instruments mounted in the aircraft to display the readings. Obviously, these devices are not portable and do not interface with portable media devices. Further, not all flying devices have instrumentation. Hang-gliders for example are ordinarily not equipped with instrumentation. Also, not all flying devices have the same type or kind of devices installed. For example, not all flying devices are equipped with instrumentation that captures and records atmospheric temperature.
Therefore, it is a first goal of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive way for aircraft pilots to view and record flight data including, but not limited to, airspeed, pressure (altimeter), temperature, orientation, heading, acceleration, and angular rate.
It is a second goal of the present invention to provide a portable device that may be transported from aircraft to aircraft. Such a device will generally not include indicators or displays, but will interoperate with an application on a cellular telephone or tablet computer. Data will be communicated wirelessly between the present invention and the cellular telephone or tablet computer.
Finally, it is a third goal of the present invention to provide a device that presents consistent, equivalent capture and recording of the same flight data no matter what kind of flying machine is used.